by John Kennedy
The News Service of Florida
With its three-year-old lawsuit against the Legislature fading, the State University System Board of Governors would be given new authority to raise tuition and fees and launch additional degree programs under legislation unveiled Tuesday by a Senate panel.
The Higher Education Committee approved the measure 5-0, with several senators saying it signals the beginning of a new and warmer relationship between lawmakers and university leaders. The committee also unanimously confirmed a half-dozen members of the Board of Governors for terms extending into 2017.
The legislation (SB 1786) would set the stage for more widely varying tuition rates within Florida’s university system, but steers clear of promoting a “tiered” university system or “flagship” universities, proposals that in the past have inflamed smaller institutions within Florida’s 11-university system.
But the measure is clearly aimed at giving universities more autonomy to shape their future.
“We want to get to the point where we have two, three or four of our top universities in the top tier of schools nationwide,” said Chairman Steve Oelrich (R-Gainesville). “And I think this gets us heading in that direction.”
The legislation (SB 1786) effectively seeks to settle the key portions of the lawsuit in the wake of the board of governors’ withdrawal last month from the legal action. The suit is still scheduled for a July 6 trial in Tallahassee, with Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. senator, and several other political leaders not yet surrendering the challenge brought under former State University System Chancellor Mark Rosenberg.
The lawsuit said that in establishing the Board of Governors, Florida voters wanted the panel to set tuition and have control of governance over the university system, effectively reducing the Legislature’s role.
Under the agreement the board signed last month withdrawing from the suit, the board and Legislature confirmed that lawmakers have the right to set the base tuition rate for universities with the board able to set differential tuition, which has been done the past couple of years.
While tuition had been the most volatile part of the schism between the Legislature and the board, last month’s agreement also gives universities the authority to develop new degree programs, and recognizes that it can delegate other duties to universities’ own boards of trustees to shape the individual missions of the schools.
Most of these provisions are included in the legislation, which received its first review Tuesday in the Senate. Oelrich acknowledged the measure is going to have to be fast-tracked to get through the Senate and House in the fading session.
“We’re going to be moving to a system where we have more supply and demand, if you want to call it that,” Oelrich said. “I don’t have any problem with Florida State University or University of Florida if they want to charge a higher tuition than, say, the University of North Florida. We should let the marketplace do its thing.”
Settling the lawsuit has been a focus of Chancellor Frank Brogan since he became head of the university system last year, with the last step expected to be the withdrawal soon by Graham and the remaining litigants. But Brogan acknowledged that it was unclear whether it was necessary for the legislation to win approval before the lawsuit is dropped.
“We’ve got 11 very unique institutions who all serve a very important purpose,” Brogan said. “This was a very important first stop. We’ve got several more stops to go. But we’ve got commitments from leadership in both chambers that we want to get this done.”